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A Clash of Kings

A Clash of Kings

By George RR Martin

Published by Spectra

Published on 2002

Summary from GoodReads:A
comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great
leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age
of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the
ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell,
chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and
the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims
through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots
against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess
masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for
a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the
Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and
fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women
possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings
clash, the whole land trembles.My review:

So. Good.

As stated above, A Clash of Kings
is the second book in The Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R.
Martin. Recently made popular by the HBO television series A Game of Thrones,
the novels have recently gained more notoriety outside of fantasy-nerd
circles. I have not seen the tv series (who can afford HBO?!), but it
sounded like something I might be interested in.

I finally started reading them on the recommendation of a friend who is a big fan of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time
cycle. I was told that if I can keep all of Jordan’s characters,
nationalities, plots, sub-plots, politics, and names straight, that I
would probably enjoy Martin, whose style is similarly cerebral. Martin
actually wins some bonus points from me for not naming every single
weapon, horse, person, and nationality with names differing only by a
few letters (like Saruman and Sauron in Lord of the Rings
by Tolkein – ugh!). I think it is true… if you are a fan of Jordan,
you are going to like these books. They are certainly bawdier and less
chaste, but definitely just as complex and engaging.

Part
of what I have really enjoyed so far about these books is that kids
play a major role in most of the storylines. Each chapter has a
different narrator, and it has been especially cool to read from the
perspective of the children. Granted, these children are more mature
than some of the 30-year-olds I know, but still, it is fun to see how
their stories develop as the wars rage on. I am certainly anxious to
see what happens to them over the rest of the cycle. So far, Martin has
published 3 more (A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons) and it is thought he will finish up with 2 beyond that, bringing the total to 7.

Of
course, I should warn you – the novels are violent and, at times,
graphic. A scene comes to mind in which a young bride is “taken” by her
husband, who happens to be riding a horse at the time, in front of all
of his clan, because he is so “enflamed” by a recent victory. Even I
gaped at that one, and I think it was only 4 sentences of the chapter.
I have to say though, as much as sex is a part of the novel, it is not a
focus. I think that Martin makes it clear that sex (and sexual
violence) are part of the culture and that the whole mentality
surrounding it is vastly different than our mindset about it today. The
scene I described earlier was not inappropriate or wrong in their
society, and knowing it helps you understand the characters more.
However, if such graphic scenes bother you, I would encourage you to
stay away from these books, because they permeate many plotlines.

Overall,
I am committed to this series. I will definitely read all 7. I wish I
could give you more detail about what has happened in the second book,
but for those of you out there who have not read the first, I would not
want to spoil anything. Part of the fun of these novels is that you are
genuinely surprised by some of the things that happen. For example,
major characters that you know and love suddenly die or are taken
hostage or switch sides, and you never saw it coming. Martin keeps you
on your toes and excited for more, which is why I am hooked. If you
choose to read this series, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I am!

1 comment:

I cautiously read this review because I'm 200 pages short of finishing A Game of Thrones, so thanks for not including any spoilers. I'm really loving the first one so far, so I'll definitely continue with the rest.

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